My problem is rock quality, not water quality. I have never had a hair algAE bloom of this magnitude in 20 years. The live rock in my current tank I believe is the source of my woes. It arrived from Reefer Madness looking like it was collected in a parking lot without a stitch of coralline algae or other life.
March 8th will be the rocks one year anniversary in my tank. There are no corals or fish, just a few snails. I cured the rock carefully doing frequent water changes. I dunked and swished the rocks each time until they were done sloughing detritus.
The tank is bare bottom and has flow pulsing from 30x to 100x per hour. The skimmer is oversized and operating efficiently at only 25% of its capacity. All the water for make-up and changes goes through a six stage RO/DI which I maintain. My calibrated TDS meter reads 0.
3% water changes with Bio Sea are performed daily with detritus removal. With the exception of some occasional buffer, no additives are added. I will be switching to Marine Environment when I finish this last batch of salt.
My conclusion is that my rock is leaching phosphate. I don't think I could have been more proactive over the past year concerning my water quality. It is the quality of my rock that is the problem. I just can't believe I have been this patient. If it doesn't improve soon the rock will be thrown into a parking lot where it belongs.
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